[rescue] SGI goodies anyone?

[Sanford Barton]

Well, the other part of this equation is expectations and what you can
actually do today with these machines.

Some may not realize that as a workstation, an Onyx 2 4x400 is not
going to be much if any faster (and may be a tick slower for
somethings) than a Octane 2x400.  The Octane being a much more
civilized proposition and general SGI/IRIX playtime box. I have an
8x350 origin 2100 with MXE graphics that was cool to play with for
awhile, but once your past looks, it's hard to stomach the noise from
9 120mm fans when I have an Octane to play with.  Note, the octane
isn't all that quiet either unless you mod it with quieter fans. I did
mine, and it's very quiet now.

That said, The Onyx2's are sexy and deserve to be preserved, so I say
if your up to the task, go for it.

Last note:  Be warned on the Origins2x00/Onyx2.  The plastic skins are
extremely fragile and difficult to work with.  If you move one, take a
long long time to carefully remove the skins first.  Try to find the
someone who knows the correct order to remove and install (nekochan).
They are made of plastic that is so brittle that it will break just
from looking at it.  Even after all that you WILL break tabs.  You can
sometimes repair them by welding them back using a q-tip and Acetone.
The more these machines get moved, the more the skins will
deteriorate.